British Columbia Rules of Practice Respecting Reduction in the Number of Years of Imprisonment Without Eligibility for Parole
SOR/97-569
Registration 1997-12-09
British Columbia Rules of Practice Respecting Reduction in the Number of Years of Imprisonment Without Eligibility for Parole
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia, pursuant to subsection 745.64(1)Footnote a of the Criminal Code, hereby makes the annexed British Columbia Rules of Practice Respecting Reduction in the Number of Years of Imprisonment Without Eligibility for Parole.
Return to footnote aS.C. 1996, c. 34, s. 2(2)
Dated at Vancouver, British Columbia, this 5th day of November, 1997
RULE 7Applications for a Reduction in the Number of Years of Imprisonment Without Eligibility for Parole
General
(1) The following definitions apply in Rule 7.
- applicant
applicant means a person who makes an application and includes, according to the context, counsel acting for that person. (requérant)
- application
application means an application made pursuant to subsection 745.6(1) of the Code. (demande)
- Attorney General
Attorney General means the Attorney General of British Columbia and includes counsel acting for the Attorney General of British Columbia. (procureur général)
- district registrar
district registrar means the district registrar of the Supreme Court of British Columbia for the Vancouver Judicial District. (registraire du district)
- judge
judge means the judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia designated by the Chief Justice to empanel a jury pursuant to subsection 745.61(5) of the Code in respect of an application. (juge)
(2) These Rules come into force on December 1, 1997.
(3) The British Columbia Rules of Practice Respecting Reduction in the Number of Years of Imprisonment Without Eligibility for ParoleFootnote 1 are repealed.
Return to footnote 1SOR/92-746
(4) Subrules 1(5) to (10) of the Criminal Rules of the Supreme Court of British Columbia apply in respect of Rule 7.
Application for Reduction
(5) An application for a reduction in the number of years of imprisonment without eligibility for parole shall be in writing in Form 8 and shall indicate
(a) the applicant’s full name and date of birth;
(b) the offence and the sentence in respect of which the application is made, the dates of conviction and sentencing and the place of the trial;
(c) the name and place of the institution in which the applicant is detained;
(d) the name and place of each institution in which the applicant has been detained since the time of the applicant’s arrest for the offence that is the subject of the application, and the date of entry into each of those institutions;
(e) any sentence, in addition to the sentence in respect of which the application is made, that the applicant is serving at the time of the application and the date and place of the imposition of that sentence and the offence in respect of which the sentence was imposed;
(f) the grounds to be relied on in support of the application;
(g) the relief sought; and
(h) the applicant’s address for service.
(6) An application shall be supported by an affidavit of the applicant in Form 9.
(7) An application, together with an affidavit referred to in subrule (6), shall be filed with the district registrar.
(8) (a) Immediately after an application is filed with the district registrar, the applicant shall cause the application to be served on
(i) the Solicitor General of Canada;
(ii) the Attorney General; and
(iii) the officer in charge of the institution in which the applicant is detained.
(b) Service of an application may be effected by registered mail, in which case it is deemed to have been effected on the seventh day after the day on which the application was mailed.
(c) Proof of service of an application may be established by an affidavit of the person who effected the service.
(d) Proof of service of an application shall be filed with the district registrar no later than seven days after the day on which the service was effected.
Designation of Judge
(9) A designation of a judge pursuant to subsection 745.61(5) of the Code shall be in writing and shall be filed with the district registrar.
Notice of Preliminary Hearing
(10) (a) On receipt of an application, the judge shall
(i) determine the date and place of the preliminary hearing to be held in connection with the application;
(ii) send a written notice of the date and place of the preliminary hearing to the Attorney General; and
(iii) instruct the Attorney General to take the necessary steps to ensure that the applicant is present on the date and at the place determined for the preliminary hearing.
(b) On receipt of a notice referred to in paragraph (a)(i), the Attorney General shall send a written notice of the date and place of the preliminary hearing by registered mail or by other accepted means of service to
(i) the applicant;
(ii) the Solicitor General of Canada; and
(iii) the officer in charge of the institution in which the applicant is detained.
(c) A copy of each notice referred to in subrule (b) shall be filed with the district registrar.
Preliminary Hearing
(11) (a) At a preliminary hearing held in connection with an application, the judge shall determine
(i) whether the applicant meets the requirements of subsection 745.6(1) of the Code;
(ii) whether the application meets the requirements of Rule 7;
(iii) the means of presenting evidence;
(iv) whether evidence is to be provided to the other party prior to the date determined for the hearing of the application and, if so, how and when that evidence shall be provided;
(v) the nature and extent of any cross-examination; and
(vi) the date and place for the hearing of the application.
(b) At a preliminary hearing, the applicant and the Attorney General shall inform the judge of any evidence they intend to present and of the manner in which they intend to present it.
(c) The judge may adjourn a preliminary hearing as the judge considers appropriate and resume the preliminary hearing on a date and at a place determined by the judge.
Parole Eligibility Report
(12) (a) At a preliminary hearing, the judge may order that a parole eligibility report in respect of an applicant and having regard to the matters referred to in subsection 745.63(1) of the Code be prepared.
(b) A parole eligibility report in respect of an applicant shall be prepared by a person designated by the Solicitor General of Canada and shall contain
(i) a summary of the applicant’s social and family background;
(ii) a summary of the applicant’s classification and discipline evaluations;
(iii) a summary of the regular reports of the applicant’s conduct;
(iv) a summary of any psychological and psychiatric assessments that have been made of the applicant; and
(v) any other information relevant to a complete description of the applicant’s character and conduct.
(c) A parole eligibility report in respect of an applicant may contain any information relevant to the issue of the parole eligibility of the applicant.
(d) Where the judge at a preliminary hearing orders that a parole eligibility report be prepared, the judge shall adjourn the preliminary hearing to allow for the preparation of that report.
(e) A parole eligibility report shall be filed with the district registrar.
(f) The district registrar, on receiving a parole eligibility report in respect of an applicant, shall deliver a copy of that report to the applicant and to the Attorney General.
(13) (a) The judge, on being informed that a parole eligibility report has been filed, shall notify the applicant and the Attorney General that the preliminary hearing is being resumed.
(b) In setting the date for the resumption of a preliminary hearing, the judge shall allow at least 30 days for the applicant and the Attorney General to study the parole eligibility report.
(14) Where the applicant or the Attorney General disputes any part of the parole eligibility report, the applicant or the Attorney General may require the attendance of the author of that report at the preliminary hearing for the purposes of cross-examination.
(15) In the case of a dispute at a preliminary hearing, the judge shall decide what parts of the parole eligibility report in respect of the applicant and what additional evidence, if any, are to be presented at the hearing of the application.
Hearing of Application
(16) (a) The hearing of an application shall be conducted and the jury shall be empanelled in accordance with Part XX of the Code, with the modification set in out subrule (b) and any other modifications that the circumstances require.
(b) For the purposes of subrule (a), the applicant and the Attorney General are entitled to the same number of peremptory challenges as they would be entitled to if the applicant were being tried for the offence that is the subject of the application.
(17) The judge may at any time make any orders and give any directions that the judge considers necessary for the due hearing and disposition of an application, including orders and directions respecting the sufficiency of an application and the extension or reduction of time periods.
(18) At the hearing of an application, the judge may, to the extent that the judge considers necessary and desirable, admit as evidence a duly certified transcript of the proceedings at the trial and the sentencing of the applicant for the offence in respect of which the application is made.
(19) At the hearing of an application, the applicant shall present evidence first and may, if the judge so permits, present rebuttal evidence after the evidence of the Attorney General is presented.
(20) After the presentation of evidence at the hearing of an application, the applicant, followed by the Attorney General, shall address the jury and the applicant may reply after the address of the Attorney General to the jury.
(21) The jury at the hearing of an application shall base its decision on the evidence presented to it at the hearing.
APPENDIX
FORM 8(Subrule 7(5))
CANADA
PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
IN THE MATTER OF (give full name of applicant), an application for a reduction in the number of years of imprisonment without eligibility for parole pursuant to section 745.6 of the Criminal Code.
To the Honourable Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia:
1 I, (give full name of applicant), born on (applicant’s date of birth) and detained at (name and place of the institution), hereby apply, pursuant to section 745.6 of the Criminal Code, for the number of years of imprisonment during which I will not be eligible for parole with respect to the sentence imposed on me on (give date of sentencing) at (give place of trial) to be reduced to (give number of years).
2 Since my arrest for the offence set out in paragraph 3, I have been detained in the following institutions: (Give a COMPLETE list of the names and places of the institutions in which the applicant has been detained and specify the date of entry into each of the institutions).
3 The sentence referred to in paragraph 1 was imposed on me for the following offence: (Indicate the offence for which the applicant was convicted and give the date of conviction).
4 The sentence imposed on me was (give a description of the sentence) and the number of years of imprisonment without eligibility for parole was set at (give number of years). (Indicate whether the sentence has been commuted and, if so, give the date of commutation.)
5 In addition to the sentence referred to in paragraph 1, as of the date of this application I am also serving the following sentences: (Give a list of any other sentences that the applicant is serving at the time of the application, the date and place of the imposition of the sentence and the offence in respect of which the sentence was imposed).
6 In support of my application I am relying on the following grounds: (Specify ALL grounds PRECISELY and CONCISELY).
7 My address for service is: (Give complete address).
Dated at this day of , 19
(Signature of applicant)
FORM 9(Subrule 7(6))
CANADA
PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
IN THE MATTER of the application
of (give full name of applicant)
pursuant to section 745.6 of the Criminal Code.
Affidavit of Applicant
I, (give full name of applicant), detained at (give name and place of institution), in the Province of , make oath and say as follows:
1 I am the applicant.
2 The facts set out in the attached application are true.
(Signature of applicant)
Sworn before me at in the Province of this day of , 19
Commissioner for Oaths
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